Sign of Life
by acethebatdog2039
Summary: A look at Bruce's stay in the hospital, just before Epilogue. Complete. Part One of the Truth Series.
1. Chapter 1

"Sign of Life"

Acethebatdog2039

Pre Epilogue, Justice League Unlimited/Batman Beyond

Chapter One: The Beginning

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A/N: Fits in the same line as my other story _Well _same set of characters.

_**Lyrics**_

_Terry's thoughts_

**Bruce's thoughts**

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**

_For the past two weeks, I have been sitting next to him telling him it is going to be okay. Am I lying to him? Is this the end? Acute kidney failure is not the way I thought Batman would leave this world. I don't think it's how he thought he would leave us either._

_

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_

Terry yawed, quickly trying to cover it up with his hand.

"Maybe you should head home," Diana said. Wonder Woman, sitting in the seat on the other side of Bruce's bed. "These long nights and days starting to get to you, Terry?"

"Maybe"

"You should go home and get some sleep," She was drawing small circles on Bruce's hand.

Terry yawed again. "I just don't want him waking up and freaking out that I'm not here."

"When does Bruce Wayne freak out?"

"When he's on loads of meds he does. I'm just surprised he isn't dead from the amount of drugs he's on."

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_**I didn't say 'I love you',**__**  
**__**When I had the chance,**__**  
**__**And now I lie here bleeding,**__**  
**__**I'm in an awful mess.**_

_**

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**_

Terry knew when that pain had set in he was in trouble. His chest felt like it was collapsing, the trouble breathing with blood coming out of his mouth.

He did not know where he was or why he was in so much pain. All he knew his air bag was open and glass all over him and the car.

"Sir, I'm part of the fire department! I'm here to help!" The firefighter pulled the car door open.

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_**I know it's not the right time,**__**  
**__**To become a religious man,**__**  
**__**But I've got that nasty feeling,**__**  
**__**It's my only chance.**_

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**_

_Dear God, please don't let it end like this. I still have people to take care of; please don't let me leave my family like this. Please don't let me leave Bruce._

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_**There is no pain, no sign of life,**__**  
**__**I took in vain my only life,**__**  
**__**I can't explain where the time went,**__**  
**__**Now I'm breathing my final breath.**_

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**_

_My breath caught in my throat, this is it. The end of my life, I'm never going to get to marry Dana. Even thought I keep fighting it, I know at some point I will marry that woman, but now I'll never be able too. I'll never see our children or our grandchildren. This is the end of my life, laying on dying on the cold street of Gotham._

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_

"Sir?" The firefighter pulled the wallet out of Terry's suit coat. "Holy shit, Terry McGinnis?"

Terry's eyes opened at the sound of his name.

"Help is coming; you just need to stay with me."

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_**I didn't say I love you when I had the chance**__**  
**__**Now I lie here bleeding**__**  
**__**I'm in an awful mess**_

_**

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**_

_Out of everyone in my life, I can't leave him. Bruce, my mentor, my best friend, and at one point became my surrogate father. But I couldn't stop myself from closing my eyes and took a last breath._

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_**There is no pain**__**  
**__**no sign of life**__**  
**__**I took in vain my only life**__**  
**__**I can't explain where the time went**__**  
**__**Now I'm breathing my final breath**___

_**There goes my last breath**_

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A/N: to be continued


	2. Chapter 2

"Sign of Life"

Acethebatdog2039

Pre Epilogue, Justice League Unlimited/Batman Beyond

Chapter Two: A Focal Point

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A/N: Back to Bruce.

**Bruce's thoughts**

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**The idea of kidney failure is just… there are so many things that could have killed me over the years. The first heart attack was a surprise but the second one was not. The whole mess with Doomsday, the broken neck, ribs, and arm, I was happy to wake up from that. ****Copperhead**** taking a bite out of me on a League mission, and even Clark punching me in the face on ****Apokolips, I was lucky to have my jaw after that hit.******

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**

Bruce opened his eyes for the first time all day.

"Hey, you," Diana took his hand in hers.

"Where's Terry?"

"He went home. He was falling asleep. I thought it would be a good idea to get him some sleep before going out for rounds."

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**Over the years after Dick, Tim, and then Barbara left, locking myself in that house away from everyone in the world, until a sixteen year young man came into my life. After training and entrusting this youth with Batman, even before I found out what Amanda did to his family. After the Joker came out of the woodwork, I knew it was time that reconnected with the League. Kent was the first member of the League to welcome me back. I had forgotten what it was like to have a friend like Clark.**

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**

The group took shifts watching over Bruce during the day, and Diana's was over. She and Terry would take the morning shift until Clark and Tim came in the afternoon, and then later Dick and Barbara would take over for the night. A tall man with almost completely grey hair walked into the room, an old friend. Superman no longer went by the name Clark Kent, but by Kal-El. Bruce never called his long time friend by his Kryptonian name, always calling him Kent, and very rarely Clark.

"How's he doing?"

Diana moved a piece of hair out her face.

"He's doing a bit better, been sleeping more than anything."

"Has the doctor been in yet?" Clark sat down in the chair that Terry was in hours before.

"He stopped in to check on him, but he said he would come back in a bit."

"How's Terry handing all of this?"

The Warrior Princess of Themyscira sighed. "He's doing as well as you think."

"So, not well at all, huh?"

Diana shook her head.

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**I knew something was going on when I saw the clan outside my room looking worried. The first thing I noticed was Terry was missing. Had something happened to him? I only wish I could keep my eyes open a bit longer to find out what happened.**

* * *

"How bad did they say it was?" Clark asked.

"Bad" Barbara said, "Jimmy called me when he heard it was Terry."

"What did they say happened?" Diana questioned.

"They said he was broadsided by a drunk driver who ran the red light." Barbara's ex-husband, Dick stated.

"What happened to the drunk driver?" Tim spoke up.

"Killed" Barbara and Dick said in unison.

* * *

"Bruce?"

Diana took his hand in hers.

"Bruce?" she called quietly.

He slowly opened his eyes. Diana sat on the edge of his bed.

"We have to talk."

"Where's Terry?"

"That's what we have to talk about"

"Diana, where is he?"

"He's in the ICU; he was in a car accident on his way home from the hospital. A drunk driver broadsided him." She explained to him slowly.

"How bad?"

"They said he may need to go back into surgery, but they're not sure at this point." She placed her hand on his cheek.

"I want to see him."

"Bruce…"

"I want to see my son, Diana."

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**It took over twenty minutes to get the doctors and the nurses into letting me see him. He looked so pale lying in that white bed, pale from all the blood loss. I started taking mental notes of all of his injuries, deep lacerations on mostly the left side of his body; the deepest one on his head just over his left eyebrow. A chest tube had been inserted just under his left lung draining the built up blood. An oxygen mask was places over his extremely bruised face the doctors had informed us that some of his bruises were in the severe category, which they are going to keep an eye on. I took his hand in my mine; there was no way I'm going to leave him now**.

* * *

"Bruce, you have to go to dialysis."

"No" Clark sighed. "Bruce, you have no choice."

"Yes, I do and the answer is still no."

"Don't make me call Diana."

"They do it in here."

"Bruce this is the ICU, there is no way they are going to let you do that."

"I can't leave him, Clark." Clark sighed again.

"Bruce he's in good hands." He placed one of his massive hands on his old friend's shoulder. "I'll stay with him while you're gone."

"Fine"

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**I knew with Kent watching over him, Terry would be in good hands. Damn dialysis, takes four hours, four hours away from watching Terry. Too long. Even if with all the technology we have now we still cannot make one that's the size of a laptop, something new for Wayne ****Enterprises**** to work on.**

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"The doctors checked in on Terry." Diana was sitting in the chair next to Bruce in the dialysis room.

"And?"

"They took him to get a few x-rays, he has two broken ribs. His neck, back, and skull are clear. They performed a ultrasound to check for internal bleeding."

"Well?"

"They said they couldn't find any but they will keep checking over the next few hours."

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**After four hours of dialysis, I was back at Terry's side, watching and waiting. After a quick phone call to Terry's mother and brother, who just happened to be in Ireland seeing family at the time. It took some time explaining the past day and half about Terry's condition to them and find a flight that would get them back to Gotham the quickest. Now only if we could get a hold of Dana in China.**

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**A/N: to be continued  
**


	3. Chapter 3

"Sign of Life"

Acethebatdog2039

Pre Epilogue, Justice League Unlimited/Batman Beyond

Chapter Three: Punching Bag

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A/N: Paging Mr. McGinnis.

_Terry's thoughts_

**Bruce's thoughts**

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**

His whole body hurt, everything felt like it was on fire.

Besides the pain, the other thing Terry notice was someone was holding his hand.

Correction, both of his hands were being held by someone, two someone's.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was dark where ever he was. Just the hallway was illuminated by one of the very faint lights outside the door.

Terry saw holding his left hand was the Warrior Princess of Themyscira herself looking in pain from her sleeping form.

The other person hold his right hand moved a bit causes Terry to turn his head slowly that way.

Bruce.

The old man was holding his hand.

* * *

_I'm alive._

**He's alive.**

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**

"Terry?"

"…Yea?"

"You're in big trouble mister."

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**For the first time since Diana told me what happened, I took a deep breath. I knew at this point he was going to be fine.**

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"I have a feeling I just don't have like a broken figure or anything, huh?" Terry's sleepy voice filled the room.

"You look like a punching bag."

"Great."

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_I feel asleep while Bruce went through the timeline on what happened while I was out cold. I missed a lot. I just want this damn tube out my chest._

**I promised Terry I would not leave.**

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**

Terry woke up with no one in the room.

No Bruce.

He promised. Terry hit the call button.

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_I over reacted, they were eating and made Bruce come with them. They could have left a note. Or at least bring me some food._

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_Diana told me that Bruce's doctors have been yelling at him for not staying in bed. Yeah, good luck with that. Since they took me out of ICU, Bruce asked if I could be moved in his room making it a bit easier on everyone. I now have a roommate._

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_For the first time in over a week, I was sitting up in a bed. My mother and brother would come by every now and then to check on me, we were finally able to get a hold of Diana in China. After a short phone call that ended with her in tears and I trying to comfort her over 12,000 miles away. All I got out of her crying was something about airports shutting down all over the country._

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**With the week pasting by, Terry grew stronger as I grew weaker. With the stress of Terry's ****accident and my heath being a mess, my kidneys where shutting down even faster than the doctors thought. Two I.V. lines in my left arm with bags of fluids to somehow correct the dehydration that comes with the renal failure.**

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"Bruce, you should tell him."

"Tell him what Diana?" Bruce questioned her.

"Tell him you're his father."

"It doesn't matter, Diana."

"It does, you're his father. He needs to know, Bruce."

"No, his father was killed years ago."

"Last time I checked he's sitting right here."

"Diana, I've never wanted to disrespect Warren McGinnis, he is the one who raised Terry and he always will be. He's his own man."

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**Terry maybe my son because of what Amanda Waller did, but Warren McGinnis raised him. Warren is the reason Terry became Batman, I cannot take that away from him.**

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"So, you're not going to tell him?"

"No, Kent."

"Okay, but you should."

"But, I'm not."

Clark sighed. "You know Terry's back out doing his night job."

"Good, two broken ribs never stopped him before."

"Or you, Bruce. Like father like son."

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_I started visiting Bruce at night in the Bat suit. He wasn't happy about it at first, but I knew he was always happy to see me._

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_

Terry dressed as Batman came through Bruce's hospital window. "Hey, old man."

Bruce was lying on his side with his eyes closed tightly.

"Bruce?"

Terry placed a hand on Bruce's arm, he jerked his arm away. "Bruce…"

"No"

"Did they give you anything?"

* * *

_I sat with him as he did with me. I stayed with him till dawn, when the nurses would be starting their rounds and then I exited the way I came, through the window._

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A/N: Almost done folks. One more chapter maybe two.

Happy reading.

_Ace_


	4. Chapter 4

"Sign of Life"

Acethebatdog2039

Pre Epilogue, Justice League Unlimited/Batman Beyond

Chapter Four: Dying with Dignity

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A/N: Last one

_Terry's thoughts_

**Bruce's thoughts**

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Bruce sighed. He could not sleep the pain was getting worse; he knew the end was near.

"Bruce, the blood tests are back." Diana sat on the side of the bed.

"So?"

"There's a match, one match."

"Terry?"

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**After waking up from a morphine caused sleep I found Terry sitting on the edge of bed. He gave me what Diana calls his 'boy' grin. I told him about the blood test and then ask for maybe one of the big things a person can ask, a kidney.**

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"Did you ask him?" Clark was sitting in one of the chairs next to Bruce's bed.

"I did"

"What did he say?"

Diana pushed some of her long black hair out of her face before looking at Bruce.

"He said he would think about it."

"Bruce if he doesn't do this, then you die." Clark said stating facts.

"You don't think I understand, Kent?"

"Bruce you could go to a hospice or home to die."

"Thanks Clark!" Diana yelled. "Great at making him feel better."

"Bruce, all anybody wants is to die with dignity. He could still give you a kidney and something could go wrong."

"You want me to die with a little dignity?" Bruce's voice was so low they almost didn't hear him.

"I just want is for you to die with a little dignity."

"There's no such thing!" Bruce sat up in his bed. "Our bodies break down, sometimes when we're 90, sometimes before we're even born, but it always happens and there's never any dignity in it! I don't care if I can walk, see, wipe my own ass... it's always ugly, always! You can live with dignity; you can't die with it!"

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"Bruce?"

Biting back pain before trying to answer, "Yes, Terry?"

"I'll do it"

Terry disappeared out the window into the night.

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A/N: Alright that's it. Thanks to Nightingale Heartz and Joseph Santiago for the reviews. Thanks guys. BTW, the dying with dignity is from House.

Ace


End file.
